How Palestinians Blame Jews For "Their Acts"

by Leah Zakh Aharoni

 Every time the pro-Palestinian movement accuses Israel of an atrocity, I have started paying attention to what they are describing. They are describing themselves! Every single time.

Genocide?

The Hamas 1988 charter, Article 7 explicitly calls for the killing of Jews wherever they are found. Not Israelis. Not Zionists. Jews. Yes anti-Zionist Jews, it includes you! As a global project. Written down. Never rescinded in any meaningful way.

Ethnic cleansing?

Every Arab country that hosted a Jewish community expelled its Jews after 1948 or severely persecuted them. Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco. Over 850,000 Jews forced from their homes. Israel absorbed them all. No one talks about them.

Occupation?

Jordan illegally occupied Judea and Samaria from 1948 to 1967. Egypt illegally occupied Gaza. Ethnically cleansed every Jew from the territory. Destroyed 58 synagogues in the Old City of Jerusalem. Paved roads with headstones from the Mount of Olives Jewish cemetery.

And successive terrorist organizations from PLO to Hezbollah have occupied Southern Lebanon with just one aim of firing rockets into Israel.

Apartheid?

Every Palestinian Arab document on the future Palestinian state specifies that no Jew will be permitted to live there. The PA has repeated this explicitly. Their vision of statehood is a Jew-free state. Their word for it is Judenrein.

They are not describing us. They are describing themselves.

But it goes deeper than the accusations. They are also projecting their entire worldview onto us.

Political Islamist movements, the same movements that fund and run the pro-Palestinian propaganda machine, operate from a specific cultural frame. And they cannot imagine that anyone operates from a different one.

Their frame is the glory of death. The Hamas charter cites the Islamic tradition promising that "the trees and the stones will say: 'O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'" That is Article 7. It is the founding document of their movement.

Their military wing is called the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, named after a jihadi killed while fighting Jews in Mandate Palestine.

Their suicide bombers are recruited with the promise of 72 virgins in paradise, a mainstream hadith cited by every jihadist organization from Hamas to ISIS. Children are taught this promise in Hamas schools before they can read.

Their funerals for terrorists are celebrated as weddings. The mother of a suicide bomber ululates in joy. The community distributes sweets. The martyr's photograph goes on the wall of the school he attended.

The Palestinian Authority pays lifetime salaries to the families of terrorists, the more Jews their relative killed, the higher the payment. "Pay for Slay" is a real, documented, ongoing PA policy.

Now here is the Jewish frame.

U'vacharta ba'chaim. Choose life. It is not a suggestion. It is a Torah commandment.

The Talmud states: "Whoever saves a single life, it is as if he saved an entire world." One human life is a universe.

Pikuach nefesh, the preservation of a single human life, overrides almost every commandment in the Torah. You can break Shabbat to save a life. You can break the fast on Yom Kippur to save a life. You can eat forbidden food to save a life. You can violate almost every ritual law to save a life. This is not a loophole. This is the whole point.

Our mourner's prayer, the Kaddish, does not even mention death. Not once. It is a praise of God's greatness. Because in the Jewish frame, even in the presence of death, we speak of life.

We named our first modern political movement "chibbat Zion" the love of Zion. Not the death of anyone. The love of a place. The desire to live there..

Our national anthem is called Hatikvah. The Hope. Not "The Vengeance." Not "The Conquest." The Hope.

They cannot see this.

They cannot see that when Israel does something, we are usually doing it because we are trying to keep our children alive. Not because we want theirs dead.

When Israel drops leaflets before a bombing, when Israel calls Arab phones to warn them to evacuate, when Israel opens humanitarian corridors even during active war, this is not weakness. This is Jewish law. Life is precious. Even the life of the population that houses your enemy is precious. And often the IDF goes to such extraordinary lengths that it endangers our own soldiers.

They cannot see this because in their frame, warning your enemy is stupidity. In their frame, showing mercy is defeat. In their frame, the goal is death, theirs, ours, everyone's, as long as it advances the political-religious project.

The Accusations

When they accuse Israel of genocide, they are describing what they would do to us if the roles were reversed. And we only need to look to October 7 to know that.

When they accuse us of wanting all the land, they are describing their own program from the river to the sea.

When they accuse us of killing children, they are describing the strategy they use, hiding rockets in kindergartens, using children as human shields, training six-year-olds to stab Jews.

Projection is not just a rhetorical move. It is what happens when a movement built on death encounters a people built on life and cannot imagine any other frame exists.

They have accused Israel of every crime in the human catalog. But they have described only themselves.

Look at what they say we do. Then look at what they actually do.

And then tell me who has the mentality of life, and who has the mentality of death.

The Price Of Saudi-Israeli Peace.

Video Of The Week-A Camera Made in Israel Which Sees Through Walls - https://tinyurl.com/9y9fs53x 

For the full Article by Douglas Bloomfield - https://tinyurl.com/ycbwu6uc

Here is the letter from the JP, reacting to the Article above.

The connection drawn between relations with the  Saudis and concessions to the Palestinians, mentioned in the last few days’ editions of the Post, is extremely disturbing as it concerns one of the most basic reasons for the continuing war between Israel and the Palestinians. i.e. the so-called “OCCUPATION”, as explained below.

This has probably been one of the most successful and powerful propaganda stories put out over the past 70 years or so, arousing the most serious and widespread anti- Israel and antisemitic feelngs worldwide.

The actual fact of the matter is that the true status of Judea and Samaria, according to its factual recent hisfory, is that it was internationally established  legally as Israeli territory, was occupied by Jordan in 1948 in an attempt to destroy Israel, and recaptured by Israel in 1967 when the surrounding Arab countries again tried to annihilate Israel.

Israel then refrained from annexing the area (called “the West Bank”) but was prepared to negotiate its status in the framework of an overall peace agreement, which status applies until today. Israel has meanwhile tried to give the Palestinians the opportunity to develop independently in parts of the “West Bank”, but they have failed in this endeavor, using their energies to fight each other and attempting to murder Jews and Israelis.

The Palestinians never owned any country or part thereof, and the concept of “occupation” by Israel in this regard is a total fabrication since they’ve never owned anything that could be occupied.

The entire phenomenon of Palestinians waging war on Israel with every means available, including rockets into residential areas, continual horrific terrorist murders of Jews or Israelis, the spreading of lies in every country, and their Covenant calling for the annihilation of Israel, rests on one assumption only ― the lie, which they have taken to believing themselves, that Israel occupies their land.  

The aggressive  behavior of the Palestinians has proved conclusively that Israel daren’t allow an independent Palestinian entity on the West bank highlands overlooking the Israeli central coastal plain, which would place it  under threat of destruction.

And America  claims that Israel must make serious concessions to the Palestinians so as to encourage the Saudis to improve ties with Israel?. Surely it’s the Palestinians who must make huge concessions to Israel?

Charles Smith, Shoresh  

 

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Does The Term 'Annexation' Even Apply?

Video Of The Week - Palestinian Illegal Occupation! https://tinyurl.com/y8vx9b8t

From Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. https://tinyurl.com/y9p72489

Is it correct to label Israeli actions with respect to the West Bank "annexation?" Can you annex territory that has already been designated as yours?

It so happens that this year is the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Conference, where the victorious Allied powers from World War I divided the Ottoman Empire and proposed Mandates for the former territories of Ottoman Asia. The territory that was to become British Mandatory Palestine was designated as a future Jewish national home already then. British diplomacy in 1920 set the stage for not only the emergence of Israel in 1948, but also the entire system of Arab states.

This history is pertinent to the debate that has emerged about Israel retaining parts of the West Bank this year in fulfillment of the Trump plan. It is commonly referred to as "annexation" and states have pointed out that they oppose the annexation of someone else's territory. The statute of the International Criminal Court in fact defines as one of the acts that constitute the crime of aggression specifically as the annexation of the territory of another state.

So is it correct to label Israeli actions with respect to the West Bank "annexation?" Can you annex territory that has already been designated as yours?

Indeed, annexation resulting from aggression is unacceptable. The Turkish invasion of Cyprus was an act of aggression. The Russian invasion of Crimea was an act of aggression. Israel in the West Bank is an entirely different story.

In addition to the designation of these territories as part of the Jewish national home, one must remember that the West Bank was captured by Israel in a war of self-defense in 1967. That makes all the difference. The great British authority on international law, Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, drew a distinction between unlawful territorial change by an aggressor and lawful territorial change in response to an act of aggression.

It would be more correct not to use the term "annexation" but rather "the application of Israeli law to parts of the West Bank."

The idea that the Jewish national home applied there was backed by much of the international community from San Remo onwards. Even Article 80 of the United Nations Charter established that national rights from the period of the League of Nations carried over to the newly established United Nations.

In 1920 British leadership under Prime Minister Lloyd George was pivotal in protecting Jewish national rights. Today, 100 years later, British leadership should follow that example.

Thus, the foundations of Jewish legal rights established through San Remo were preserved for the future.

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Learn To Speak Up For Israel

Video Of The Week - Miss Iraq drops bomb at U.N. - https://tinyurl.com/yycrm9uk

 We are pleased to share the lessons learned, and the language to use in addressing many myths and lies about Israel. This information comes from a workshop organized by the CAEF Event Committee with Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Arabic and Middle East specialist from Bar Ilan University, Israel. The 30 participants in the training, now have greater confidence to respond to challenging questions, often posed by friends, family members or colleagues in dialogue about Israel. We offer this Q & A to all readers.

Q.  If it’s a colonial project, does Israel have the right to exist?

A.

·        What is a colonial project? What is Canada if not a colonial project? 

·        The Jews were in Israel, for 3000 years, no other ethnic/religious group is still there from Biblical times.

·        If I return, when will you return to your homeland?

·        Jews did not exterminate people who were already there.

·        Jerusalem is the oldest capital in the world, the Jewish capital, and has never been the capital of any other nation.

Q.  How can you defend the occupation and settlements?

A.

·        What other country has given land back after a defensive war?

·        No other lands of a winning nation have ever been returned. e.g. Should Texas go back to Mexico? Do you support the occupation of Western Sahara, Tibet, Crimea, and if not, what are you doing about it? 

·        In order to be given sovereignty, land has to be taken from a sovereign entity. Judea and Samaria were not sovereign. There are many areas of border disputes, eg. Kashmir.  Are you lobbying for its return or conflict resolution?

·        In all other areas of dispute, countries maintain relations. 

·        “Occupation” is a claim which is a pretext for lack of peace. If Arab Palestinians believe they are rightly living on their own land, how can they claim an occupation? What of the lands illegally settled by Arabs in Judea and Samaria, in some cases creating towns with no residents?

·        Note the illegal “occupation” of Judea and Samaria by Jordan took place from 1948-67, when it was then liberated in defensive war after the massacre of Jews.

Q.  Shouldn’t Arabs have a Free Palestine?

A.

·        Yes, free from the “Arab occupation, Hamas and Palestinian Authority” which deny them basic human rights.

Q.  How can you say there is no Palestinian people?

A.

·        Are you referring to the Philistines? The Arabs living in Israel are not those people.

·        Are you referring to the various tribes? The people from other countries eg. Egypt, Iraq?

·        Are you referring to Arabs in Jordan or those Jordan expelled?

·        What is the Palestinian culture, language?

·        There is no ‘P’ in Arabic – so they could never have been called ‘Palestinian’.

·        There are numerous tribes, not a nation and these tribes are not cooperating with one another, and they are not likely to become a nation.

·        Nov 29, 1947, General Assembly voted on a Jewish State and an Arabic State, not a Palestine state. Both peoples lived in the Mandate for Palestine, formally called Syria Palestina by the Romans.  There are 2 Palestinian people – Israelis + Jordanians, though the latter are ruled by the Hashemite tribe.

·        Consider this: If it had been an Arab country, would Arabs give up the right of return after 50 years, 100 years, 1000, 2000? If not, you now understand the Jewish position as Israel was historically a Jewish country. It was however, never an Arab country, even pre-WWI, the interwar years or WWII. 

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Is Israel an Occupier?

Video of the week – Is there an Occupation? http://tinyurl.com/ybx5r6zs

 It is often stated that Israel is “occupying” Palestinian land, and has no legal basis to exist. This is a lie - let’s learn the truth, and some history while we’re at it!

The State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, by the United Nations and with the legal approval of the British, who governed the land where the modern State of Israel exists on at the time - note there was no Arab or Palestinian state there. These maps will show you a continual Jewish presence in the region, however, for thousands of years.

The United Nations partitioned the land, like so;

 UN Partion

A home for the Arabs and a home for the Jews. The Jews accepted. However, the Arabs rejected this plan - thus legally forfeiting their state - and staged a war against Israel in which it was attacked by six Arab armies…and Israel won. That left Israel a sovereign state, but Jordan controlled what is now The West Bank, and Egypt controlled Gaza, as that is where the parties involved decided to draw armistice lines. Once again…where is Palestine?

The map now looked like this;

Fast forward to 1967. Tensions in the region had been high, with troops amassing in Israel’s neighbouring countries preparing for war. In a preemptive strike, Israel rolled out “Operation Focus” - an airstrike on the Sinai peninsula. After only six days, facing armies from all of its surrounding countries, Israel had captured land from Syria, Egypt, and Jordan. Once again…no Palestine.

Our borders now looked like this;

However, Israel wanted to make peace with its neighbours - it didn’t want to have to fight anymore.

On March 26th 1979, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a treaty which gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt, while still letting Israel have control over Gaza, in exchange for peace. And this worked! So, Gaza, an Egyptian territory given legally to Israel? Not occupied.

In 1994, Israel and the Jordanians sat down to discuss peace as well. Jordan gave up control of Judea and Samaria, also known as The West Bank, as well as East Jerusalem, to Israel. Thus, these areas also cannot be considered occupied.

The Golan Heights, also captured by Israel in the 1967 war, were taken from Syria, with whom Israel does not have peace. However, the land was won fairly and under the circumstances of any other country, its annexation would have been an approved one. But understanding bias against Israel is for another post.

So, let’s review.

A sovereign Palestinian state has never been in existence.

East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), the Golan Heights, and Gaza were won in a defensive war.

These territories, save for the Golan Heights, were legally given to Israel by the nations sovereign over them.

With this history, Israel cannot be considered an occupier. The proper term for Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and The Golan Heights is not “occupied territories” - rather, “disputed territories”, much like Western Sahara or South Ossetia.

This article can tell you more about Israeli history and activity, such as settlement building, in Judea and Samaria.

See more at: Eretz Yisrael - http://tinyurl.com/yddkxjxu

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